U.S. F15C Eagle jet fighter prepares for take off during the Lithuanian – NATO air force exercise at the Siauliai airbase some 230 km. (144 miles) east of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, April 1, 2014. The air training event will involve F-15C Eagle of the U.S. Air Force currently deployed on NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, JAS-39 Gripen aircraft of the Swedish Air Force, C-27J Spartan transport aircraft and Mi-8 helicopter of the Lithuanian Air Force. Furthermore, NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft based in Germany and U.S. KC-135R air refuelling aircraft are expected to join the exercise. The Baltic Regional Training Event demonstrate NATO commitments to collective defence, Alliance solidarity and confidence.

BRUSSELS — NATO foreign ministers moved Tuesday to beef up the defenses of front-line alliance members feeling menaced by a more assertive Russia, with Secretary of State John Kerry proclaiming the U.S. commitment to their security is “unwavering.” The ministers from NATO’s 28 member nations also ordered suspension of all “practical civilian and military cooperation” with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, although they made sure a line of communication with the Kremlin remains open at the ambassadorial level.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the keystone of U.S. and European security since the end of World War II, is facing its most acute geopolitical crisis in years: the fallout from Moscow’s unilateral annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, which the Obama administration and its allies condemn as a brazen, illegal land grab.

On Tuesday, an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 Russian troops equipped with tanks, other armored vehicles, and fixed and rotary wing aircraft remained positioned near the border with Ukraine, a NATO military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.

The military official described the Russian buildup as “a complete combat force” that was highly threatening to Ukraine.

Those troops, and future aggressive moves that Putin’s Kremlin may make, have become a troubling concern for NATO countries, especially the alliance’s easternmost members — the Baltic states, Poland and Romania, all of which were once in Moscow’s orbit.

To reassure skittish allies, Kerry said at a news conference that the U.S. has already sent warplanes and a guided-missile destroyer to the region. “And more U.S. support is on the way,” he said.

Meeting behind closed doors, Kerry and the other ministers unanimously agreed Tuesday on a number of measures. A civilian NATO official who attended the meeting and briefed reporters afterward on condition of anonymity said the steps included:

• Suspension of “all practical civilian and military cooperation” between NATO and Russia. NATO officials said ambassadorial-level contacts will remain open.

• Possible deployment and reinforcement of military assets in eastern NATO members, such as Poland and the Baltic states, that feel menaced by Moscow’s latest actions.

NATO Supreme Cmdr. Gen. Phil Breedlove and his subordinates will draw up the proposals within a few weeks and then submit them to political leaders for their approval, the NATO official said.

Obama gets bill to provide Ukraine aid

WASHINGTON — Congress is sending President Barack Obama a bill to provide $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine and take punitive measures against Russia for its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, part of the former Soviet republic.

The House voted overwhelmingly to pass it Tuesday. The bill is also aimed at discouraging any further actions that President Vladimir Putin might be contemplating in the region.

The bill supplements sanctions the administration already has levied on Putin’s inner circle and a Russian bank.

Other developments

• Russia sharply hiked the price for natural gas to Ukraine and threatened to reclaim billions in previous discounts, raising the heat on Ukraine’s cash-strapped government.

• In Kiev, Ukrainian police moved to disarm members of a radical nationalist group after a shooting spree in the capital. If police disarm nationalists and other radicals, it would undermine Russia’s allegation that the new Ukrainian government was kowtowing to those groups.

• Russian parliament annulled its deal with Ukraine to rent its Black Sea Fleet’s base in Crimea until 2042 for $98 million a year.

Denver Post news services

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